Options for Public Health Surveillance for Autism Spectrum Disorder (PDF 3.9 MB/65 pages)
In 2012, the Minnesota Legislature directed that the "Commissioner of Health develop and submit a report...on the feasibility of establishing a public health surveillance system for ASD." The Minnesota Department of Health released this report to summarize options for and outline the work needed to develop a public health surveillance system for ASD in Minnesota. A public health surveillance system for ASD in Minnesota would allow the state to assess the occurrence of ASD in the population and provide data to inform an evidence–based public health response. March 2014

Largest project to date looks at the number and characteristics of Somali children with ASD in any U.S. community.

New data released in December 2013 by the University of Minnesota reports that Somali and White children were about equally likely to be identified with ASD in Minneapolis. There is no statistically meaningful difference between the two estimates. Somali and White children were more likely to be identified with ASD than non–Somali Black and Hispanic children. For more information go to University of Minnesota Minneapolis Somali Autism Spectrum Disorder Prevalence Project website. March 2014